Observations, articles, opinions etc. in Dutch and English. The author, Bert de Bruin (Yonathan Dror Bar-On), is a Dutch-Jewish historian, who has specialized in modern Jewish history and in the history of the Middle East, and who in 1995 emigrated from the Netherlands to Israel. He wrote one book (2008), and edited another (2011), both in Dutch. For feedback please post a comment, or send this blog's author an email: (hisdutchname)atyahoodotcom

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

This morning, while reading one of the columns of Midas Dekkers, a highly popular Dutch biologist-author, I was already reminded of the Remembrance Day ceremonies of this evening and tomorrow, during which we honor the memory of those who were killed and murdered in all the wars and terror attacks ( and accidents within the army ) since - and also before - 1948.

"[...]Arithmethically the small number of extinct animal species shrinks into insignificance when compared to the millions of newly discovered species that we received as an unexpected present, but the former happen to be the ones that I care about. Because I had come to know them. They are dear to me. It does not make any sense, amidst all the graves in a cemetery, to happily tell a person who weeps for the loss of his own beloved about all the babies that are born today. It seems unavoidable that people die and that whole animal species are wiped out forever, but please give us some time to make sure that first they can be loved a little."